Godric
by Xtyne
Summary: He was just a boy sitting on my swing, a boy twelve years later, I realized was a vampire. Just a little Godric one-shot about a single life he impacted in his last years.


**Godric**

I remember the first time I saw him.

I was only seven, sneaking out of my room and over to the park just behind our small two story house. I loved the peace of the night, even back then. I loved to just swing as high as I possibly could on the swings while gazing up at the endless stars. I could just stay there for hours, alone and perfectly happy.

On that particular night, there he sat, in the very swing I had had my eye on that morning from my backyard fence. It was always the same swing, the second from the far end. It was unofficially dubbed _my_ swing. And there he was, sitting in it.

I remember huffing and puffing as I slipped out of the rickety gate, storming across the short patch of grass before planting myself right before him. I was only a child, a little girl, and yet I didn't care that he was a strange man – no a boy. He couldn't have been very old, a child himself. But as his aqua coloured orbs fell to meet mine, even then I knew he was an old soul.

Oh how right I had been.

"What are you doing out so late, little one?" his head tilted to the side, taking in my small form. "You shouldn't be wandering around alone this late. You should return home."

"I'm not little." I had defended, my hands firmly on my hips in annoyance. "You're sitting on my swing."

Amusement crossed his lips. "Is that so?"

"Yes." I stood my ground, my eyes narrowing. "Move please."

"Well, since you so kindly asked."

My eyes grew wide as he suddenly disappeared. It was like the magic show my father had taken me to only last week. But as amazing as he was, the boy next door had announced that it had all been fake, that there was no such thing as magic. In my heart I still wanted to believe. How could I not when a man was cut in half and a woman had disappeared before my very eyes? But little Tommy insisted that there was a trap door, strings attached, and every other possible excuse.

My gaze had immediately dropped to the ground, searching for said trap door. I even kicked at the sand, searching for any sort of door that the boy could have escaped through.

But there was none.

So then where had he gone?

"You're a curious little thing."

I let out a squeak as I twisted around to find the boy standing behind me, a smile quirked on his lips. He appeared so plain, and yet so mystical all at the same time I remember thinking. His hair was dark brown, cut short, while his clothes were simple and unlike the current fashions I had seen the older boys on the street wearing. It was his eyes however, that captivated me. I remember staring right through them, losing myself in those depths.

"Staring in impolite." He mused, though his smile was still on his pale lips.

"Where did you come from?" I asked in wonder.

He didn't answer, instead gazing up at the stars. I frowned, not liking being ignored. I stomped my foot on the ground, hoping to capture his attention. But he continued to stare up at the millions of stars as if I wasn't even there. So I closed the distance and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, tugging until his head lowered to meet my gaze.

"Who are you?" I demanded to know, my small arms crossing over my chest.

"Weren't you ever taught not to talk to strangers?" he raised an eyebrow.

"If you tell me your name you won't be a stranger." I pointed out smartly.

The boy chuckled, his smile widening. "You are quite a little handful, aren't you?"

"I'm not little!" I insisted with a frown. I hated everyone calling me little. I wasn't the smallest in my class. No, Margret Thomas was. I had her beat by at least an inch!

"Everyone is little to me."

"But you're not that big." I huffed.

He just smiled down at me. Realizing I wouldn't get a straight answer from the boy, I just blew out a puff of air and turned back towards my swing. Forgetting the boy, at least for now, I went to settle on my prize. Only for him to suddenly appear there, teasing me with the mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "That's my swing!"

"Is it?"

"Yes. Please move."

His smile widened for a moment before suddenly, his head snapped to the side. His entire body grew stiff as his smile evaporated, replaced with a frown. He stood before I even realized what was happening, and had knelt before me.

"You must return home now, little one." He grabbed my gaze, looking deep in my eyes.

I could feel a tug at my consciousness, almost like someone was grabbing my hair. Tommy had done so at school once, and it wasn't very nice at all. But this, this didn't hurt at all. It almost felt nice, like I was floating on air. It was so nice that I couldn't help but giggle. It was like a warm blanket was being wrapped around me, exactly how I liked being tucked into bed at night.

"You shouldn't sneak out after dark. The night is a dangerous time, little one." He raised a hand, his cool fingertips brushing a stray strand of hair out of my eyes. "Run back home and tuck yourself into bed."

"Okay." I don't know why I agreed. I wanted to play on the swings. I wanted to stare up at the stars and try and remember which ones I had named. But for some reason, home seemed like the better idea. My warm bed, it was waiting for me. I should go home.

"Sweet dreams, little one." He stood, patting the top of my head before suddenly, he was gone.

I took a look around, my head feeling funny. But then my gaze fell on my backyard and I shrugged, hurrying across the grass and slipped back into the confines of safety. I sent the park one last glance before entering the house, feeling a pair of eyes following my every moment. I waved it off however, scurrying inside the house as quietly as I could without my parents hearing. I would be grounded for sure if they caught me.

It was from that day on that I would always search for the boy at the park. I had stopped sneaking out late at night, feeling as if for some reason, it wasn't safe to do so. I understood now that I had been glamoured, that my mind had been altered to believe every single one of his words. I should have been angry with him, but in my heart, I knew it wasn't safe, that something lurked in the shadows.

A monster maybe.

Or maybe just a vampire.

I realized three years ago that the boy hadn't been a boy at all, at least not really. He had been a vampire. I was sure of it with his fast speed, his pale complexion, and his old soul. Not to mention the mind alteration. I had met my first vampire that night so long ago and I never even knew it. I didn't even know his name until recently.

Godric.

It was twelve years later that I saw him again, or at least a picture of him.

I was just sitting in my small cramped apartment in Dallas that I shared with two other girls I had known since pre-school, working on trying to get the pancake batter out of my hair. I was a disaster in the kitchen, and was just glad I was a better swimmer than I was a cook. I never would have gotten my scholarship if I hadn't been.

The news was playing in the background, something about the Fellowship of the Sun that I thought was ridiculous. Apparently they had bombed the house of an important vampire, both humans and vampires dying. I just shook my head at the prejudice. Why couldn't humans co-exist with vampires? What was so horrible about them? They had all been humans at one point. What was the harm in everyone being treated equal? Apparently Steve Newlin saw the harm, but the man was a psychopath I never wanted to cross paths with.

The story quickly turned to the events that occurred after the bombing, the saddened death of the beloved vampire Sheriff. I stopped the moment I saw the picture. It was him. It was the vampire I had met when I was only seven. It had been so long ago and yet I could have recognized him anywhere. He hadn't changed a single bit since that night in the park. He still looked exactly the same. Though now, at my older age, I could appreciate how handsome he was. And he hadn't been a boy at all. Maybe just a bit younger than I was now. He was beautiful though, with his startling orbs that held a life that I couldn't even imagine.

"_Godric was respected by both the vampire and human community for his view on the mainstreaming movement. We are saddened by the loss of a great vampire who wished for peace amongst all races. Hopefully his death won't be in vain."_

"Godric." I let his name roll off my tongue, moving closer to the TV without even realizing it.

I hadn't even known him. He had just been some boy sitting on my swing, some boy who turned out to be a vampire, one that very well could have saved my life that night in the park. He knew something had been wrong and he sent me right on back home. Who knows what could have been lurking amongst the trees, amongst the dark shadows?

I was overwhelmed by a sadness I couldn't comprehend. I hadn't met him, not properly anyways. Twelve years had passed and he had just been some memory.

But an important memory.

He had been the reason I never gave up hope that the world around us wasn't as simple as everyone thought it was. It was him who gave me the reason to believe in magic, to believe in something more than what we saw with our own two eyes. The world was so much more than that, and I realized just how right I was now. It wasn't just vampires that walked among us, but every supernatural being possible. There was a whole new world, one that so many were blind to, that they feared. It was a world that I wanted to explore, to live, to enjoy. Without even knowing it, Godric had impacted my life in ways I would always be grateful for.

And now he was gone. He was dead. And I never had the chance to thank him, to ask him all the questions I've had since I was a child.

But he was in a better place now, or at least that's what I wanted to believe. He may have been a vampire, but in my eyes, he had been a saint, a boy with a soul I wished I could have understood. He wasn't a monster, but a man searching for peace, for love in such a hateful world.

I hoped he had now found his own personal peace.

"Goodbye Godric." I smiled sadly before reaching over and turning the TV off.

Pushing myself to my feet, I moved down the hallway and into the bathroom, letting my gaze settle on the small park across the parking lot of my apartment building. I had never strayed far from home, and in that moment, I was glad for it.

"_Sweet dreams, little one."_

And oh how sweet the dreams of my life had been.

All thanks to him.

All thanks to **Godric.**


End file.
